Summertime [Paperback]

Raffaella Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2002

Venetia Summers is 'buffered from single-motherhood' by boyfriend David, but when work takes him to the tropics, things begin to unravel. Phone lines crackle, e-mails languish unanswered, while children run amok, brother Desmond's outrageous wedding takes over her home and new neighbour, Hedley Sale, makes his dastardly presence felt. It's no surprise that Venetia ends up dumping David. But how is she to fend off the amorous Hedley, or break the news to the children?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this latest addition to the "Brit-chick" genre, Barker sneaks another peek at the diary of divorced mother-of-three Venetia Summers. This sequel to last year's Hens Dancing follows her bucolic life in Norfolk, England, which "seems entirely made up of shit-shoveling episodes, be they after dogs, pigs, children, or hens." She's adjusting without her "lovely handsome tower-of-strength boyfriend, David," who's been called to work on a movie set in Bermuda, but desperately misses him and his help with 11-year-old Giles, nine-year-old Felix and toddler "The Beauty." Production delays keep David away longer than expected, and phone calls and e-mails are increasingly few and far between. But for better or worse, Venetia finds distraction in a wacky cast of characters, most notably her mother, whose idea of teatime is a pack of cigarettes and a glass of vodka, and Hedley Sale, her cantankerous new neighbor, who has a penchant for overimbibing and speaking Latin. Venetia also stumbles into a burgeoning fashion career, which consists of attaching the odd pipe cleaner or stalk of wheat to old cardigans and selling them in a posh London store, which will hopefully allow her to quit her tedious copywriting job. Frustrated by David's absence, Venetia flirts with the idea that Hedley may be The One, if only she can look past his repulsiveness to his ability to provide stability for her family. His attempts at seduction, like inviting Venetia to listen to the nightingales on the heath, are utterly British pastoral, and this breezy yet surprisingly tender read is peppered with Brit-speak (chod, scrumple, splodges) that any Anglophile will enjoy. The reader needn't be a parent to appreciate this sweetly funny ode to single motherhood.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This sequel to her delightful and wacky Hens Dancing finds Venetia Summers with a roiling mass of children and dogs at her feet and her tipsy mother announcing the upcoming marriage of Venetia's brother Desmond. David, the love of Venetia's life from the prior book, has gone off with a movie crew to the jungles of somewhere and communicates to her via e-mails with her children, strange parcels bearing live parrots, and infrequent phone calls. Venetia is certain that he has found another love in the jungle, has told him that their relationship is off, and is thoroughly depressed. But when she discovers a talent for designing unique clothing from odd bits of junk, things start looking up. Not only is she making money but the older (and wealthier) gentleman from down the road has asked her to marry him, and she has accepted. Her mother thinks that Venetia has lost her mind, and her children are furious. Pandemonium reigns until a peculiar event brings David out of the woodwork. Venetia Summers has been compared by earlier reviewers to Bridget Jones, but Barker's freshness and wit give her character a softer and more believable image. This truly charming novel is highly recommended for popular fiction collections. Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo,
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Review; New Edition edition (April 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747262225
• ISBN-13: 978-0747262220
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,574,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't want it to end!, May 28, 2002

By 

shannon falk (Forestville, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summertime: A Novel (Hardcover)

I read this book in 2 days, and wish it took longer because I didn't want it to end! The story revolves around diary entries made by a single mother named Venetia living in Norfolk England with her three children two boys 9& 10--Giles and Felix, and a three year old girl that the author refers to only as The Beauty. Venetia is supported by a fun cast of wacky characters, from her flower power sixties mother to her lovestruck brother I just opened this book and wanted to be part of their world. What I really enjoyed about this book was that they left in all the british words for things, like nappies (diapers) and instead of darn it she would say bugger...etc. For an anglophile like myself I loved that. If you like Bridget Jones's Diary your sure to like Summertime, though it is not a knock-off, but a completely authentic work in its own right. As soon as I finished the book I found out there was a previous book by Mrs. Barker called Hens Dancing, which also features Venetia and the same cast of characters. Just ordered it, and I can't wait for it to arrive!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite as irresistible as it's predecessor ..., April 28, 2005

By 

Laurie Eno (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summertime (Paperback)

... but a good dollop of Venetia Summers & crew nonetheless. Don't let the "Brit-Chick Lit" label scare you -- Raffaella Barker is an accomplished writer with pockets full to bursting with wit and wry insights. She's penned a regular column for English Country Life for ages, lives in the English countryside, and so knows of what she speaks. There is a wonderful cast of characters in these books (Hens Dancing, the first one, and this follow-up, Summertime). I couldn't wait to get my hands on Summetime when it came out, and though I was a bit disappointed (how could I not be after being so disarmed by the first book? Perhaps a bit of the novelty had worn off), I am still glad that she brought back the whole gang for another installment.

Besides, any book that mentions "the Aga" (famous British brand of stove, which they always call a cooker, apparently) at least a dozen times can't be all bad, can it?

This book deserves WAY more attention than it's received ... but do start with "Hens ... ", because the story will make more sense if you do. It's not "serious" literature, but if you are serious about enjoying what you read, and making room for books as friends in your life and on your shelf, give this a whirl.

Cheers!

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring unless you like to read minutia & details of raising 3 kids alone where nothing ever happens, January 29, 2010

By 

Oddzilla - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summertime (Paperback)

Sorry but I couldn't finish this. The story was extremely slow-moving and nothing ever seemed to happen. I skipped ahead a lot of pages before anything ever happened, and even when it sort of did, it was boring. I'm just not that into the everyday minutia of raising kids even though I've done it. I want a story with adventure and excitement and this definitely didn't have any.